diddi dance

Children’s Activities Week – 13-17th May 2019

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UK children join TV stars Dick & Dom and take on diddi dance’s Watch Me Fly Challenge as part of national fundraising campaign for autism in Children’s Activities Week

Groups of enthusiastic children all across the UK are set to take on a sponsored Watch Me Fly dance challenge with children’s toddler and preschool dance classes, diddi dance, as a challenge this week, 13th – 17th May, as part of a national campaign in Children’s Activities Week, to raise money to improve support for children with autism, with charity Caudwell Children.

The challenge will take place as part of the regular diddi dance classes and the children will swap their normal classes for the sponsored challenge as part of the national Children’s Activities Week campaign.

diddi dance children, from classes nationwide, will form part of an estimated 120,000 children across the country in completing the challenge as part of the national campaign to raise awareness and money to provide support for autistic children through the charity, Caudwell Children.

Autism directly affects over 2.5million people in the UK every day and it is proven that early detection and intervention is the most effective way of managing behaviour relating to autism. But across the UK families can regularly wait years to receive an autism assessment for their child and, once diagnosed, often have to fight for any kind of support.

The money raised from the sponsored challenge will fund assessments and practical support for autistic children at the new Caudwell International Children’s Centre, the UK’s first independent purpose-built centre dedicated to autism.

Activity Leader, Anne-Marie Martin, founder of diddi dance, said:
“We are proud to be a part of Children’s Activities Week and all of the children have had lots of fun practicing for our diddi dance Watch Me Fly challenge this week.

At diddi dance we are passionate about giving children the best start in life and by taking part in Children’s Activities Week we are taking that beyond our classes and helping other children as well.”

Children’s Activities Week is a partnership between the Children’s Activities Association, a not-for-profit membership organisation and national charity, Caudwell Children.

 

For more information about Children’s Activities Week or Caudwell Children visit www.caudwellchildren.com/caw2019.

 

diddi dance wins at EWIF awards

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Our very own diddi dance Founder Anne-Marie Martin was yesterday awarded the highest accolade at the EWIF awards 2019 – Inspirational Woman Franchisor 2019, sponsored by Little Voices.

We are delighted to be celebrating this most prestigious of awards for Anne-Marie at diddi dance HQ.

Anne-Marie was awarded the title at the EWIF ceremony yesterday, due to a hugely successful year last year, both as a franchisor, for her brand and network, and personally. This included delivering talks at local women’s networking events, sharing her experiences at franchising events, and inspiring the next generation at local schools, advocating franchising at every opportunity.

Improvements to the franchisee training and ongoing support, has seen the network feeling more motivated and empowered with even more webinars, face-to-face meetings, and forums. As a result, based on franchisee satisfaction, the franchise has been awarded 5* status for five years in a row. Whilst overall turnover increased, right across the network.

 

We also give huge congratulations to our franchisee Charlotte Foxley who runs diddi dance North Essex and South Suffolk, for winning Woman Franchisee of the Year 2019, Sponsored by McDonalds.

Charlotte runs a team of six teachers who cover 20 classes a week and works with several nurseries and special needs schools delivering diddi dance. Charlotte’s business is the first diddi dance franchisee to complete the Para Dance Instructor qualification in July.

And a massive well done to Emily Norman who runs diddi dance Bristol, for making it as a finalist in her category of  Young Woman in Franchising, a brilliant achievement.

We’re so proud of all of our diddi finalists and winners!

 

 

 

 

 

diddi dance nominated for What On 4 Kids Awards 2019

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diddi dance are excited to say we have been nominated for two What’s On 4 Kids Awards 2019 in the following categories:

Most Loved Music, Dance or Performing Arts Activity – Franchisor or Independent Taught By 30+ Leaders
Most Loved Party Activity – with 40+ Leaders Overall

These awards celebrate the UK’s biggest brands in the world of kids’ activities, the nations most talented teachers and class leaders, the most amazing volunteers and best party people – as nominated and voted for by the experts – parents, carers and parents-to-be.

If you can spare a minute please vote for us then wish us luck for a win!

Closing date for voting is 12 noon on 24th June 2019.

diddi dance Reading & Wokingham receives CAA Gold Accreditation

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The team at diddi dance, the brand behind the much loved preschool dance classes, are extremely proud to announce their franchise diddi dance Reading & Wokingham has achieved Gold accreditation from the Children’s Activities Association (CAA). The CAA is the only not-for-profit, industry-led association to set and raise standards in all organised children’s activities across the UK and this achievement clearly showcases the team at diddi dance Reading & Wokingham’s passion for excellence.

Set-up by leading industry experts in 2015, including diddi dance Founder Anne-Marie Martin, the establishment of the CAA (a Community Interest Company) has revolutionised the children’s activities sector. After Anne-Marie completed the accreditation process for diddi dance in 2016, she decided to offer the same accreditation to each diddi dance Franchise. This past month Anne-Marie & diddi dance were thrilled to personally accredit franchisee Andrea Bickford and her franchise diddi dance Reading & Wokingham.

Over 200,000 children a week now attend a CAA member activity and it is a truly fantastic endorsement for diddi dance Reading & Wokingham to be part of this ground-breaking national initiative. Andrea’s commitment to achieving Gold for her franchise shows her dedication to demonstrate to her industry peers and her fellow diddi dance franchisees that she excels at what she does as well as giving her parents the reassurance they deserve when selecting the best classes for their little ones.

Andrea opened diddi dance Reading & Wokingam in January 2014 and now runs numerous classes in the area, and has gone on to grow it into one of the most recognisable diddi dance brands in the nation, Becoming a Gold accredited member of the CAA is the latest achievement in the brand’s 6 year success story supporting dancing toddlers weekly.

It is staggering to learn that before the CAA, there was no national, independent association in the UK for the children’s activity sector as a whole. Through the development of the CAA Code of Practice and via their thorough accreditation, for the first time, parents can now easily make simple, informed decisions when choosing from the wealth of children’s activities out there. Just by asking whether the provider is a CAA member, a parent or carer can get reassurance on important issues such as insurance, health and safety, criminal record checks, training, qualifications, class content and much more.

As one parent said regarding the CAA –

With so many clubs and classes to choose from it’s so hard to know which are the best and what I should be asking when I leave my children in the care of a class leader. In the past I just wrongly assumed kids’ activities must have to be regulated. Knowing that the CAA has asked those important questions to help keep my child safe is fantastic – so now I just look for their logo!”

Having achieved Gold CAA accreditation means that diddi dance Reading & Wokingham has been independently verified as having met or exceeded all the necessary elements of the CAA Code of Practice. This accomplishment offers parents peace of mind when selecting an activity from the myriad of providers out there.

Anne-Marie, commented on the accreditation process and Andrea’s success:

“Using the CAA accreditation system to ensure all our franchisees are performing to not only our high standards but also a nationally recognised association too is so important to us. Andrea is a great asset to our franchise network, she is motivated, hard working and driven, and through her attention to detail its fantastic she has now been awarded her gold accreditation”.

Adding to this Andrea of diddi dance Reading & Wokingham said:

“I always set myself and my team the highest of standards, as I truly believe that “if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!” I pride myself on the quality of service I provide my customers and, wherever possible, I try to exceed their expectations, so it means a lot to be awarded Gold accreditation from the CAA. With so many toddler classes around today, I believe it’s really important for parents to have the peace of mind that the activity they’ve chosen is setting the benchmark for quality control in all aspects of the business”.

Congratulations again to Andrea and her franchise. If you would like more information about diddi dance Reading & Wokingham visit the Facebook page here or read all about them by clicking here

diddi celebrates EWIF finalists announced 2019

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The EWIF (Encouraging Women Into Franchising) Awards 2019 finalists have been announced!

We are extremely proud that our very own Anne-Marie Martin, founder of the diddi dance franchise, has been selected as one of only three finalists for the highly prestigious EWIF Inspirational Woman Award 2019 sponsored by Little Voices.

On being nominated, Founder of diddi dance, Anne-Marie Martin said,

“To have been selected as a finalist in this most prestigious of EWIF’s awards, in the Inspirational Woman of the Year 2019 category, is truly an honour. I am hugely proud of our diddi dance journey and where we have come in 16 years of franchising, in supporting women to create their own work/life balance running a business as part of the diddi dance family. To have our hard work recognised by EWIF is a real tribute to our success as a franchise”

 

In addition, two of our own diddi dance franchisees have also been announced as finalists in their categories – Charlotte Foxley who runs North Essex & South Suffolk,  is amongst five finalists for the title of Woman Franchisee of the Year 2019 sponsored by McDonald’s Restaurants and Emily Norman who runs Bristol, is one of three selected finalists for Young Woman in Franchising of the Year 2019 (Under 30) sponsored by Darwin Gray. Here’s what they both say on their nomination:

Charlotte Foxley, finalist for Woman Franchisee of the Year 2019, said,

“I feel extremely honoured to have been selected as a finalist in this category and to have the hard work that I’ve put in to build my diddi dance franchise during 2018 recognised in this competitive field by EWIF”

 

 

 

Emily Norman, finalist for Young Woman in Franchising (Under 30) 2019, said,

“I am very excited for this year’s awards and feel very proud to have made it as a finalist in this category by EWIF. To achieve recognition as a young diddi dance franchisee within a male dominated industry by a prestigious awards body is a great honour”

 

 

We are exceptionally proud of our diddi dance finalists and applaud the hard work they have all put in throughout 2018 to reach this point. We wish them all the best of luck for the EWIF Awards 2019, which will be held this year on Wednesday 1st May.

What’s On 4 Kids 2019 Awards are now open

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The What’s On 4 Kids 2019 Awards are open for nominations!

We would love if you could spare a moment to nominate diddi dance as a company and put your reasons in the box provided by visiting here

What’s On 4 Kids UK  – Children’s Activities, a site where you can search for local activities, classes, groups and events for kids, children and babies. You can find hundreds of fun things to do with your children and family.

We thank you for your continued support 🙂

diddi founder shares the secrets of her success

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Our very own Anne-Marie Martin, founder of diddi dance, is going to be sharing her story and experience of becoming one of the UK’s most successful and multi award winning franchisors in the children’s activities sector.

You can catch Anne-Marie speaking at the following events over the next couple of months:

5 February 2019 @ Space at 61, London SE15

8 March 2019 @ Mama Tribe for International Women’s Day

2 April 2019 @ Girl Tribe Gang monthly SE London group meet up, at St John The Unicorn Pub, London SE15

23 April 2019 @ MIBA South London, at Louie Louie Cafe, London SE17

Do come and join us if you’d like to hear more about Anne-Marie Martin’s journey to successful franchisor and mumpreneur. We’d love to see you there! As well as speaking at these events, Anne-Marie has also been invited along to a local secondary school to participate as a Dragon in their Dragons Den event in February.

diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester receives CAA Gold Accreditation

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The team at diddi dance, the brand behind the much loved preschool dance classes, are extremely proud to announce their franchise diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester has achieved Gold accreditation from the Children’s Activities Association (CAA). The CAA is the only not-for-profit, industry-led association to set and raise standards in all organised children’s activities across the UK and this achievement clearly showcases the team at diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester’s passion for excellence.

Set-up by leading industry experts in 2015, including diddi dance Founder Anne-Marie Martin, the establishment of the CAA (a Community Interest Company) has revolutionised the children’s activities sector. After Anne-Marie completed the accreditation process for diddi dance in 2016, she decided to offer the same accreditation to each diddi dance Franchise. This past month Anne-Marie & diddi dance were thrilled to personally accredit franchisee Liz Chisnall and her franchise diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester.

Over 200,000 children a week now attend a CAA member activity and it is a truly fantastic endorsement for diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester to be part of this ground-breaking national initiative. Liz’s commitment to achieving Gold for her franchise shows her dedication to demonstrate to her industry peers and her fellow diddi dance franchisees that she excels at what she does as well as giving her parents the reassurance they deserve when selecting the best classes for their little ones.

Liz took over the business for diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester in July 2017 and within her first year achieved both her Bronze & Silver CAA accreditations and now has an amazing 14 classes running throughout the area.

It is staggering to learn that before the CAA, there was no national, independent association in the UK for the children’s activity sector as a whole. Through the development of the CAA Code of Practice and via their thorough accreditation, for the first time, parents can now easily make simple, informed decisions when choosing from the wealth of children’s activities out there. Just by asking whether the provider is a CAA member, a parent or carer can get reassurance on important issues such as insurance, health and safety, criminal record cpreschool toddler dance hampshire chichesterhecks, training, qualifications, class content and much more.

As one parent said regarding the CAA –

With so many clubs and classes to choose from it’s so hard to know which are the best and what I should be asking when I leave my children in the care of a class leader. In the past I just wrongly assumed kids’ activities must have to be regulated. Knowing that the CAA has asked those important questions to help keep my child safe is fantastic – so now I just look for their logo!”

Having achieved Gold CAA accreditation means that diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester has been independently verified as having met or exceeded all the necessary elements of the CAA Code of Practice. This accomplishment offers parents peace of mind when selecting an activity from the myriad of providers out there.

Anne-Marie, commented on the accreditation process and Liz’s success:

“Using the CAA accreditation system to ensure all our franchisees are performing to not only our high standards but also a nationally recognised association too is so important to us. It’s fantastic seeing our fifth franchise gain gold accreditation. Having only taken this franchise over a year ago, it’s fantastic to see the turnaround Liz has given it. She is truly deserving of her gold accreditation as she is running a brilliant franchise.”

Adding to this Liz of diddi dance SE Hampshire and Chichester said:

“I’m so pleased to receive my Gold Children’s Activities Association Accreditation, I hope it gives our parents and carers confidence that our classes are run to the very highest standards, as well as being brilliant fun. As a business owner, it makes me proud to know that our classes have been externally checked and have received GOLD accreditation status.”

Congratulations again to Liz and her franchise. If you would like more information about diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester visit the Facebook page here or read all about them by clicking here

All about diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester

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preschool toddler dance hampshire chichesterdiddi dance Franchisee Liz who runs diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester  recently became the 5th diddi dance franchise to be fully accredited by the Children’s Activity Association. To read all about her recent achievement just click here. 

Because of this success, we at diddi dance wanted to take the time to tell you all about Liz and diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester here!

How long have you been with diddi dance?

One year.

What did you do before joining diddi dance?

I worked in PR.

What do you love most about diddi dance and running your own business?

“The flexibility to do a job I love that fits in with my life and home commitments.  

What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of diddi dance?

Being able to have such fun with the children each week!

What has been a highlight for you since taking on your diddi dance?

I love going to our diddi dance conferences, learning more form our head office team and the other franchisees we’re lucky to have such a supportive network!

What is something you are looking forward to as you continue with your diddi dance franchise?

“I’m really looking forward to being able to share diddi dance with more children we’re growing our classes and preschool sessions all the time so we can encourage ore pre-schoolers to get up and moving – aiming to encourage healthy habits for life!

What do you enjoy most about your diddi dance?

I love seeing the children gain in confidence, learn to do something they couldn’t do last week and sharing their fun and excitement.

What do you enjoy most about being your own Boss?

The flexibility to make sure I’m there for my children when they need me!

What does the CAA accreditation mean to you?

I’m so proud to be Gold accredited with the CAA running my own business is new to me but I’m so pleased to have these guidelines to follow tot know we’re offering our families the best possible class.

And finally, what is your favourite diddi dance theme and why?

I love the disco dance we’ve just finished it’s so fun and the music has such a catchy beat!

 

diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester currently has multiple classes running across their exclusive area. They are as follows:

Mondays

  • Bedhampton Social Hall – 21 Bedhampton Road, Havant PO9 3ES
  • Eastney Community centre, Bransbury Park, Bransbury Road, Eastnet PO4 9SU
  • Meadowside Leisure Centre, Whiteley Way, Fareham PO15 7LJ

Tuesdays

  • Herne Farm Leisure Centre, Moggs Mead, Petersfield GU31 4PY
  • Porchester Community Centre, Westlands Grove, Portchester, Fareham PO16 9AD
  • Fitjoy, 7 College Lane, Chichester, PO19 6PD
  • St Cuthberts, St Cutherbert’s Community Centre, Hayling Avenue, Copnor PO3 6EA

Wednesday

  • Waterlooville Community, 10 Maurepas Way, Waterlooville PO7 7AY
  • Fishbourne Centre, Blackboy Lane, Fishbourne, Chichester PO18 8BE

Thursday

  • 10am Culcheth Sports Club, Charnock Road, Culcheth WA3 5SH
  • Rousllion Community Hall, Donegall Avenue, Chichester PO19 6DF
  • V Club, 9 Fielder Drive, Fareham PO14 1JE
  • The Stride, Daffodil Way, Havant PO9 1FA
  • Cams Alders Stadium, Palmerston Driver, Fareham PO14 1BJ

Friday

  • Napier Hall, Portsmouth Riad, Horndean, Waterlooville PO8 9NL
  • St Cuthberts, St Cutherbert’s Community Centre, Hayling Avenue, Copnor PO3 6EA
  • Havelock, 323 Fawcett Road, Southsea PO4 0LQ

To attend any of the above classes or to express interest in having a FREE trial get in touch with diddi dance SE Hampshire & Chichester! You can email them on liz.chisnalldiddidance.com, call 07855 412837, message them on Facebook at @diddidanceSEHantsandChi or fill in her free enquiry form by clicking here.

diddi dance nominated for a Club Hub Award 2019

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diddi dance are excited to announce we’ve been nominated for the Club Hub Awards 2019 in the following categories:

  Franchise of the Year
  Leader of the Year

Club Hub is an award winning kids directory on children’s activities all over the UK and these awards celebrate the UK’s best children’s clubs and classes, along with leaders and volunteers, party providers, places and activity-based products for children – as nominated and voted for by the experts – parents, carers and parents-to-be.

The more nominations we receive the more likely we are to become a finalist so if you can spare a minute please nominate us then wish us luck 

 

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